Editorial: State Senate recommendations for Macomb County

Three state Senate seats from Macomb County are open -- the incumbents will not be returning. The races have attracted a number of political veterans who are scrambling to either move up from the House or return to Lansing. These are our recommendations for candidates who have the best chance of reforming state government and improving the business climate, in contested races:

District 9 (Center Line, Eastpointe, Fraser, Lake Township, St. Clair Shores and Warren): Our choice in the Democratic primary, which is most likely to produce the next senator, is former State Rep. Steven Bieda, an attorney and a tax law expert. While he was in the Legislature he was a champion of ethics reform, successfully pushing through legislation requiring politicians to disclose contributions to their legal defense funds. He also advocated a cooling off period before lawmakers become lobbyists, sought full financial disclosure for political figures and complete accounting for lobbyist-funded trips. His background as a tax analyst will prove especially useful. On the Republican side, our support goes to Michael Ennis, a territory manager for a wholesale distributor. He has good instincts on controlling taxes and spending and vows to look for good ideas from both sides of the aisle for repairing the state's economy.

District 10 (Clinton Township, Roseville, Sterling Heights and Utica): The district has a Democratic primary with two veteran, well-qualified candidates. Our recommendation is Paul Gieleghem, chairman of the Macomb Board of Commissioners and a former state representative. He has worked to trim county spending and to bring about a more modern form of county government, experiences that would serve him well in Lansing. There is no GOP primary in this district.

District 11 (Armada, Bruce, Chesterfield, Harrison, Lenox and Macomb townships, part of Memphis, Mount Clemens, New Baltimore, Ray Township, part of Richmond and Richmond Township, Shelby and Washington townships): This sprawling northern Macomb County senate district is the site of a brawl between three current or former Republican state representatives in the GOP primary. Our support goes to the only incumbent representative, Kim Meltzer , who has a solidly conservative voting record on spending and taxes. As a member of a family that owns a machining company in Romeo, she is familiar with the travails of small business and manufacturing and is well placed to advocate for reforms that make government less of an impediment to job creators. On the Democratic side, our choice is Jim Ayres, former owner of an electronics store, who has a long history in Democratic politics and makes the best case for carrying the Democratic banner in the fall.